Nesher

Nesher (Hebrew: נֶשֶׁר) is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In 2024 it had a population of 22,896. It was founded in 1923 as a workers town for the Nesher Cement factory, the first cement factory in the country. History Nesher was founded in 1923 as a workers town for the Nesher Cement factory, established in September 1923 by Michael Pollack, a Jewish industrialist from Russia. The area was swampy and malaria-infested, but employees of the factory gradually moved there with their families, bringing the population to 1,500. Nesher was floated as a public company in 1925. During the 1929 Palestine riots, Arabs from neighbouring Balad al-Sheikh attacked the factory and burned down a farm. By the mid-1930s, Nesher Cement had 700 employees, both Jewish and Arab. In 1948, thousands of Jewish immigrants from Europe, Iraq and North Africa settled in Nesher. The town also expanded over the Palestinian village of Balad al-Sheikh, immediately north-west of Old Nesher, after it was depopulated during the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine. A portion of the Tel Hanan neighborhood of the city was built over the village. In 1952, a local council was formed comprising four neighborhoods – Nesher, Giv'at Nesher, Ben-Dor and Tel Hanan. The first mayor was Yehuda Shimroni. Demographics CBS statistics for 2005 show Nesher's ethnic makeup as 99.5% Jewish and other non-Arabs. 30.7% of the population in 2005 were immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. Education The city's education system comprises six elementary schools, one comprehensive high school, two middle schools and 36 kindergartens and day care centers with an enrollment of 4,000 pupils. Over 70% of Nesher's high school students take the Bagrut matriculation exams, with a pass rate of 98%, one of the highest rates in Israel. Nesher's high school won the Israeli Education Prize twice in the span of a decade. Twinning and cultural exchange In 2005, the Broward County Jewish Federation established a partnership with Nesher in an effort to create a people-to-people cultural exchange program that includes high school and college student exchanges and video conferencing for events such as school celebrations and concerts. Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises Ltd A city-forming enterprise, The Portland Cement Company "Nesher" Limited was founded in 1923 with a founding capital of £250,000. Its head office was at 7 Queen Square Southamptom Row, London, W.C.1, United Kingdom. In that year, the company acquired in Yazour, located at a distance of 8 km. from Haifa, 4,000 dunams of land, out of which 1,000 on the slopes of Carmel. The factory that was built there was one of the most modern cement factories in the world and employed 250 workers. As of 1927, the factory produced 60,000-70,000 tons of superior Portland cement per year. The factory was connected by railway to the most important cities of the region, including the ones in Syria and Egypt. The enterprise also founded the workers' town that, as of 1927, counted 30 buildings with gardens. Emblem The municipal emblem was designed by David Hollod and approved at a local committee meeting on the 24th of October 1962. It includes multiple references: The vulture represents the name of the city and the cement factory from its inception. The 4 hills represent the mountainous terrain and the four original neighborhoods that constituted the settlement–Ben Dor, Tel Hanan, Nesher, and Givat Nesher. The factory and chimney represent the industrial foundation the city was established upon. The tree represents the growth and prosperity of the city over the years. Gallery References External links Official website